


A Present

by GrrHatLet



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday Presents, Childhood, Childhood Memories, Childhood Romance, F/M, January 9th, Poverty, Spinner's End, snape's birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-16 01:06:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9266900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrrHatLet/pseuds/GrrHatLet
Summary: Happy Birthday, Sev.





	

“What are you doing?”

Lily whipped around to see her older sister frowning from the kitchen doorway.

A smile. “Can you help me wrap this up, ‘Tuney? It’s for Sev’s birthday.”

Petunia wrinkled her nose. “ _He_ has a birthday? I always assumed he grew out of some swamp.”

A forlorn look overcame Lily’s features. Why did her sister say such things? Sev was her best friend…

Petunia crossed her arms, her eyes picking apart the dimensions of the box.

A hopeful glint rose in Lily’s eyes. “Does it need more ribbon?”

“Why do you bother with him, anyhow? He’s always dirty, dingy, and from what mother and father say _obviously_ destitute—“

“’Tuney…”

“All you talk about is Warthogs this and Izkabibble that! It’s the only thing you seem to have in common! Would you even be friends if not for…for…”

Lily gazed at her in surprise. “Of course I would.”

Petunia made a funny noise, and turned to walk out. “ _Well,_  see you don’t get too close—grease is nay impossible to get out.”

Lily’s disappointed gaze fell to the floor…a snip of wrapping paper staring up from the tile. She quickly jerked herself out of it: it was the 9th of January, Sev’s birthday! He’d be eleven today—in a few months he’d be attending Hogwarts! It had to be something special…

A knot grew in her stomach as she applied the last of the wrap. Would Sev like what she had gotten? Would it be much of a present at all? With a house surely _bursting_ with magic, could a simple gift like this be enough to stand out? 

Oh, but who cared if it looked better than the rest! So long as Sev was happy, that was what mattered. Really, his house must’ve been overflowing with magical gifts! Oh, what she wouldn’t have given to seen that…

With no further time to berate herself, she hoisted the freshly-wrapped present from the table and dashed for her coat.

“I’m going to the playground!”  


* * *

 Severus quivered in a oft-worn jacket, his hands pink in moth-eaten socks. Appropriate as they were, they were the best things on hand in their spoiled little house (the socks he had to hide from his father, who grumbled of why they hadn’t even a pair of bloody gloves lying about). 

He blew into the pinkened patches showing through, when a dash of movement caught his eye.

He’d know that flicker of red anywhere.

Lily raced up to him, her face pink and delighted and beautiful in the cold. “Hey Sev!”

Severus was…happy, though a tad more surprised than usual to see her storming merrily to the playground.

“Lily?”

She finally reached him and held out…her possession for him to see. 

“What’s that?”

She beamed at him eagerly. “A present! For you!”

A colorful mish-mash of paper and tape stared him in the face.

But suddently he jolted back. “A what?”

“Present, silly!”

He gawked. “What for?”

Now Lily stared at him strangely. “Your birthday of course.”

This merely doubled his surprise. “My _what_?”

Lily smiled fondly. “Honestly, Sev, you act like you’ve never seen a present before.” She held it out to him again. “Go on, open it!”

Fully stunned, Sev awkwardly gazed down at what was offered in her waiting hands…then slowly took it from her scarlet mittens to hold against his stomach.

It was very easy to keep hold of; the stickiness was quick to point out the holes to his fingers. If Lily’s gift had been fragile, there would be no concern of dropping it.

“Cmon, Sev!”

The pair sat on their knees as Snape undid all of Lily’s craftsmanship, and with a bit of effort yanked off the cardboard lid of the square box.

Lily watched carefully as Snape took in what was inside.

His face froze in shock at what the packaging hid.

She immediately squirmed and looked away. “I know it isn’t much, but, there was so little to choose from, and Mum n’ Dad wouldn’t increase my allowance, so it was really the best that I could do and…oh I _knew_  I should have begged to go to the toy store! I’m very sorry, Sev!”

Sev gazed at what lay in the box: a brand-new, perfectly untouched, winter coat.

His gaze rose from the present, to her, then back down again.

It looked so…clean. And warm. She had gotten this just for him? With one more quiet glance her way, he carefully picked up the gift and held it to his chest.

It even _felt_  warm.

A heavy, deep feeling began growing in young Severus’ chest. Something he had learned to hide. Something rarely ever felt, but loved all the same.

A tight feeling rose in his throat, but _that_ he immediately tampered down.

Without a word, he pulled down the zip, carefully slid it on, and drew it up to the limit it would go–just at the end of his neck.

It fit perfectly.

Severus put his hands in the pockets. They _were_  warm…but-

He glanced down and pulled out some wads of paper. He looked at Lily questioningly.

Who sprouted an only half-anxious smile. “Mum says they do that to keep their shape. Or something like that.” Leaning forward just slightly, she asked, “Does it feel alright?”

Alright? It was so comfy, so soft. It had no holes nor pinched if he moved, and wasn’t two sizes too anything. Severus couldn’t believe it was meant for him…

It would be a hard time hiding it when he got home; no way it would survive unsupervised in a home of Spinner’s End.

Severus gazed at her, flushed, a glimmer of a smile peeked from the corner of his lips. “Thank you.”

Lily beamed and threw herself forward to wrap him in a big hug.

“Happy Birthday, Sev.”


End file.
